The University of the Southwest Mustangs returned home to New Mexico empty handed as the Biola Eagles tennis teams both won on March 22. The men are on a five-match win streak, the best in program history, and the women have won two in a row following the San Diego Christian forfeit on March 19.
Starting off Strong
The men started play off strong, winning four of the six singles matches. Notable players for the Eagles included sophomores Joe Turnquist, David Garcia and Lucas Lee. Turnquist played in the fourth spot, and after splitting the first two sets with his opponent, came from behind in the third set to win the match. Garcia ended up the only Eagle to earn a shutout in one of the sets against his opponent, as he dispatched the Mustang player 6-0, 6-2. Lee has been on fire this season, as he is 12-3 in singles play and 6-0 when playing in the number one spot.
Doubles play was all Biola, as the Eagles defeated each of their opponent pairs without requiring extra points. The second team of Turnquist and sophomore Philip Westwood finished first, winning 8-3. The third team of Garcia and sophomore Michael Vartuli also won 8-3, but not quite as quickly. The top team of Lee and junior Luke Mountain took the longest, eventually grabbing the 8-6 win.
“We've been working a lot on volleys recently,” Lee said. “…our ability to get confidence in doubles has been much better in recent matches.”
Battling for Victory
On the women’s side, they got the shutout in singles play, with no match requiring an extra set. The closest match came on the top court, as junior Madeline Heer battled to the minimum victory in each set, taking the first 6-4 and the second 7-5. In doubles play, the first and second teams had no problem with their opponents, dispatching them 8-1 and 8-3, respectively. The third team took the only loss of the day, dropping it 5-8.
The men’s team moves to 9-7, and the women improve to 5-11. Both teams play the University of Hawaii at Hilo on March 23, with the men starting at 2 p.m. followed by the women at 4:30 p.m.
